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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 154: Relentless Pursuit
"Take a look at my hidden weapon... here it comes!" Ruhua shouted as he tossed a bowl into the air.
It flew off course and smashed against the eaves of a shop, shattering into pieces. With a splatter, some of it landed in a pot of hot oil, catching Master off guard. He yelped in pain, shouting, "Which damn fool threw something into my pot? I'm getting burned alive here!"
Ruhua was startled, his teeth chattering. Fortunately, he hadn’t seen what happened. Behind him, Boss Lady realized she couldn’t catch up and swung her thick arm, sending a ladle flying. She cursed loudly, "I hope you all get run over by a pack of dogs!"
The ladle soared through the air with uncanny accuracy, striking the bald man wearing a cap on the head and knocking off his hat. The bald man clutched his head and cried out in pain. Upon seeing him, Boss Lady froze; he looked familiar.
The bald man didn’t have time to worry about anything else as he ducked and ran wildly. At that moment, Xiao Mu had closed in on him. Unexpectedly, the bald man reached into his pocket and tossed out a handful of bright red bills. As he sprinted past, people quickly surrounded the money, momentarily slowing Xiao Mu down. By the time he pushed through the crowd, the bald man had already gained several meters of distance.
"Stop! Stop! Catch him! He's a thief!" Xiao Mu shouted from behind. He noticed pedestrians around—some riding bikes and others parked—but not one person stepped in to help; they all seemed to avoid getting involved.
"Damn it, not even one Lei Feng around..."
Frustration boiled within him as he pushed himself to run faster. At that moment, something drove him forward, and his speed increased once more.
Ruhua was just a step behind; he watched as Xiao Mu was about to grab the bald man when suddenly the bald man turned around and threw a punch right at Xiao Mu's face. Xiao Mu stumbled back like a wooden post losing its balance and fell hard.
"Damn it, fighting is such trash," Ruhua fumed. He stopped abruptly and grabbed hold of a motorcycle driver who was trying to make a living. With an intimidating glare, he startled the driver into submission. The handsome appearance worked wonders; the Motorcycle Taxi Driver didn’t dare resist as Ruhua brandished his handcuffs and shouted, "Give me your keys! I'm commandeering your bike."
"Hurry up! Do I look like a cop to you?" Ruhua urged angrily.
"Like... like... even the police are like you." The Motorcycle Taxi Driver, feeling nervous, obediently handed the keys to Ruhua.
With a kick, he made a sharp turn, and with a whoosh, the front wheel lifted off the ground by several inches as he sped toward Xiao Mu. At that moment, Xiao Mu had already gotten up and continued the chase. As the motorcycle approached him, Xiao Mu jumped onto the back seat and pointed at the bald man running ahead.
"Is that the Trafficker King?" Ruhua asked.
"Definitely not a decent person. The moment you scare him with the police handcuffs, he runs away," Xiao Mu replied, unable to articulate clearly.
"If we're going to catch someone, let's go for the big fish. What's the point in chasing small fry?" Ruhua scoffed.
"It’s... absolutely the Trafficker King. I’m telling you, Baldy hasn’t shown up anywhere... They definitely haven’t caught him. Brother Hua, you’re about to make a name for yourself; hurry up and chase!" Xiao Mu wiped his nosebleed and urged Ruhua on.
Ruhua seemed to have found that adrenaline rush from his days of fighting with delinquents outside school again. With a whoosh, he accelerated, nearly throwing Xiao Mu off balance. With another burst of speed, he lunged at the fleeing man, kicking him in the waist. The man yelped and crashed into a garbage bin.
Hahaha... Ruhua turned his head and laughed heartily.
Xiao Mu gasped in fright, "Stop! We hit something!"
Just as he said it, too late to react, overconfident Ruhua didn’t have time to respond as the motorcycle collided with a garbage truck parked on the sidewalk with a loud bang. Ruhua flew off and landed heavily inside the truck.
Xiao Mu was thrown several meters away. By the time he got up, Bald Man had also recovered from his fall and was running again, having sustained less injury than both of them.
"Damn it, trying to run..." Xiao Mu felt a surge of anger and chased after him.
"Hey, wait for me!" Ruhua shouted as he crawled out from the soft pile of garbage, following Xiao Mu.
"Damn it, the Car Brands won't start," Xiao Mu cursed.
"You’re the damn one! We caught him and still let him get away," Ruhua retorted.
"Shit, we weren't prepared. This guy has some serious stamina," Xiao Mu replied.
"I swear... ah... if only Baldy were here..." Ruhua panted.
They chased down the street for two kilometers, shouting until their voices were hoarse, but still encountered no sign of the heroic act.
That Bald Man was probably desperate to escape, eager to shake off the two behind him. With his familiarity with the surroundings, he made several turns and nearly lost them. Just as they thought the distance was widening, he darted into a People's Supermarket.
When the two burst inside, they were taken aback by the sight: shelves lined with products and customers bustling about. On a weekend, it was packed with people. One of them had a face covered in blood, while the other was covered in trash—definitely an unusual sight. Two security guards quickly approached them.
"Police," Ruhua tried to use his old trick again, his fierce expression adding to the intimidation factor.
It backfired. One of the security guards asked warily, "Where are your credentials?"
"Huh?" Ruhua was stunned. There was no follow-up.
Xiao Mu fell silent and pulled Ruhua deeper into the supermarket. The two security guards chased after them, but unexpectedly, Xiao Mu dashed toward the kitchenware aisle, grabbed a knife, and turned to confront the guards. "You don’t recognize me from Black Society? Do you believe I’ll chop you up?"
"Big brother, please don’t..." The guard was so frightened that his legs went weak.
"I'm asking you! Where did that Bald Man go?" Xiao Mu shouted, his face smeared with blood, looking intimidating as ever.
"Speak quickly." Ruhua swung a hot water bottle, ready to smash it down.
"I just came in... couldn't see clearly..."
"Who could see clearly?"
"Don't move, or I'll kill you."
The two of them dragged the security guard and threatened the two women at the stall until someone pointed towards the back door where the goods were delivered. This guy must be familiar with the place; he slipped out through the back door.
Xiao Mu pulled the excited Ruhua straight towards the back door. As they stepped outside, he glanced back and saw those people keeping their distance. He shouted, "Call the police!"
"We won't report it... you take your time." One of the store managers said slowly, politely sending off the pair of troublemakers.
Fuming, Xiao Mu slammed the door behind him as he ran, pulling out Aeming's number. Once it connected, he panted, "Hurry... hurry, we’ve chased down a fugitive... at People's Supermarket... What? Where? How should I know where? Come quickly for support..."
After sprinting for a short distance, they found themselves at a crossroads, stunned. One path led out to the street while the other two veered off in unknown directions. Ruhua looked at Xiao Mu and asked, "Which way should we go?"
"Come on, crouch down against the wall. Remember when we fought at school? I'll go up and you go down; follow my lead," Xiao Mu instructed.
Ruhua's eyes lit up as he nodded and crouched against the wall. Xiao Mu stepped onto his shoulder and climbed up onto the wall. The two of them, one high and one low, quickly searched through this complex terrain...
The alarm at the Langxi Command Center blared loudly as reports came in from the West City morning market, Xixi Road, and People's Supermarket. Several Young Officer vehicles quickly responded to the scene.
It took five minutes for the officers to arrive. Upon hearing the name Li Tzu, those responsible for assisting in Langxi realized their grave mistake. They swiftly withdrew the Police Force from the Expressway Entrance and the station, gathering at the incident location.
Li Tzu, a frequent visitor to the Shrimp Wonton Shop, was precisely who the task force had been unable to locate—unbeknownst to them, he had returned to the city.
Xiao Mu received a call almost simultaneously with the local police report. Aeming hurried downstairs with a team of arresting officers. As they walked, Xu Jian anxiously asked, "What... what happened? How did those two run into Old Trafficker?"
"Don't I find it puzzling too? Those two can't be that reckless. How many Police Force units were surrounding them? Yet they still managed to collide," Aeming replied.
"What’s the situation now?" Ren Guoliang inquired.
"How would I know? Enough chatter, let’s move..." Aeming said, nearly bouncing down the stairs.
As several concealed vehicles started up, their sirens blared wildly. They sped out of their hiding spots and raced toward People's Supermarket.
On the local traffic command map, with People's Supermarket at its center, police cars with flashing lights converged rapidly from all directions toward this point.
At that moment, Xiao Mu and Ruhua reached a critical juncture. Having faced off against alumni and students from outside their school multiple times, their practiced ambush tactics were finally about to come into play.
Xiao Mu ran along the wall of an alley, occasionally throwing bricks. As long as he reached the corner, he could quickly check both angles of the alley for any signs of people.
Encountering a dead end... Bang! He threw a brick, but there was no response, so he quickly changed his angle.
Bang! He threw another brick, and suddenly shouted, "That dog bastard is throwing at me!"
No, it was just someone relieving themselves. Xiao Mu waved his hand and hurriedly slipped away.
Standing atop the wall of the alley, he had a general view of the entire old district. The old brick houses were unevenly scattered, with alleys crisscrossing in all directions. If someone really ran away, not a single witness would remain. Xiao Mu knew that catching this elusive kidnapper would be difficult; the speed of their escape indicated they were no ordinary person.
With that thought in mind, he began to act recklessly, picking up bricks and tossing them into a nearby house. Just as the occupants reacted, they heard someone screaming, "Ah... there's a bald man killing someone! Come quick!"
Bang! He smashed another window, and the voice continued to urge, "Ah... there's a bald man killing someone! Come quick!"
Damn it! It wasn't working; no one came out to check.
"You idiot! Who would dare come out if you shout 'murder'?" Ruhua below shook his head. He followed suit but was even bolder. He banged on a door and threw a brick inside while shouting, "Hey... whose wife is running around naked? Come see!"
This line worked wonders; instantly, two or three windows opened up, and residents shook their heads in confusion: "Where? Where?"
"Is it a bald man or someone running around naked?" one rough-looking guy got angry.
Bang! Another brick flew and hit a motorcycle in the yard. From an unseen spot, someone shouted, "Hey! That bald guy! What are you throwing bricks for? What if you hit someone?"
People started yelling about who broke their windows, coming out with tools in hand, searching for that bald figure.
"Damn it! Ruhua is a genius," Xiao Mu thought with delight as he pried more bricks from the wall. Below, Ruhua continued to throw bricks while Xiao Mu shouted, "Hey! Bald guy! What are you throwing bricks for?"
One house after another... seventy or eighty in total, the two troublemakers were wreaking havoc in the Alley, causing quite a stir among the residents. At that moment, Xiao Mu also jumped down from the wall, crying out in despair, "Uncle, Auntie, look! That bald guy just threw something at my face... Hurry and find him!"
As the two of them cried out, they quickly turned and slipped away. More and more residents began to emerge slowly. Although Ruhua, who was hiding behind the wall, was panting heavily, his interest was piqued. He remarked, "It's hard to catch him; the area is too big."
"Damn it, let's try again. The more people there are, the better. Someone has to see him," Xiao Mu replied.
Bang! Another brick was thrown into someone’s yard...
At this moment, the escapee could hardly see anything due to the walls and houses blocking his view. However, the increasing voices and chaotic noise made him feel anxious. He hid in the central area of this zone; ahead was Hui People's Street, and retreating led back to People's Supermarket. The directions were all interconnected, but ever since the bricks started flying everywhere, he dared not move. If he bumped into a witness and got seen, his ten years of hard work in this place would be ruined.
This thought made him hesitate for a moment. As the crowd grew louder, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and darted out to hide in a garbage pit.
Not far from where he emerged, someone shouted from a window, "Hey! You damn dog! Did you just break my window?"
The voice startled him so much that he nearly lost his composure. Covering his face, he said, "It wasn't me."
He bolted away as fast as he could; that glass was definitely broken now. From a distance came another shout: "Hey... hey! That bald guy is running towards Third Alley... Liu's Mom, block him!"
A woman carrying a vegetable basket heard her neighbor's call and stood in the way to block him. Little did she know that the fleeing figure had already dashed past her with a loud crash, sending her sprawling on the ground as he sprinted away. The old lady immediately began wailing, her cries louder than the sound of bricks being thrown.
Xiao Mu had already heard that shout and maneuvered to block off any escape routes as they headed toward the source of the noise. Just as they leaped forward and heard alarms ringing out, they caught sight of the bald guy rushing toward them at the entrance of the Alley.
"Hey, take a break; we can't run anymore... Oh, Wang Shou, it's really hard to find you," Xiao Mu said.
The person said nothing and turned to run again. This expression and movement only made Xiao Mu more suspicious, but he didn't chase after him. He waited until Wang Shou was a few steps away when suddenly... bang! Out of nowhere, he fell flat on his face. As he lay there, he stretched out a leg and turned back to see an ugly face—Ruhua, grinning maliciously, pounced on him.
Slap! Ruhua landed a punch on the man.
Thud! The man elbowed Ruhua in return.
Bang! Ruhua slammed against the wall from the impact.
Ah... the man howled in pain as Ruhua grabbed him by the pants.
Ow... the man fell down, only to receive another kick from behind.
The two pressed down on him, venting their earlier frustrations with wild abandon. Ruhua excitedly straddled the man, mimicking what he had seen on TV, and cuffed him.
"That was so cool... haha."
"Totally awesome... haha."
The two high-fived each other in celebration. As more residents gathered around, they looked at them with suspicion. Little did they know that Ruhua's brother had been clever for a moment but then acted foolishly again, shouting, "What are you looking at? The police are arresting someone... move along!"
Bang… bang… rotten cabbages and eggshells flew in from who knows where, responding directly to this "police officer's" bluster…
The police cars surrounded the area as instructed by the department. When Aeming and his team arrived at the scene, a group of officers was blocking the alley, not in pursuit of suspects, but seemingly engaged in a heated argument.
The police were asking, "Which unit are you from? Where are your credentials?"
Someone shouted back, "What does it matter to you which unit I'm from? What about you?"
The police responded, "We're from the 110 Command Center."
Another voice yelled, "Who are you trying to intimidate? I'm from the Provincial Police Headquarters! You can't take him away!"
This was bad; the Ruhua were causing a ruckus. Aeming and his team quickly separated from the crowd and pushed their way inside to find out what was happening. The leader of the group was adamant, insisting that the long-haired man and that ugly guy were the suspects who had stolen a motorcycle and threatened people with a knife in a supermarket. How could they explain this?
"Let's discuss this later," Aeming interjected firmly, moving forward to apprehend those involved. He swiftly placed handcuffs on the two suspects and covered their heads with black cloth. The Ruhua were furious, shouting, "Hey, you Baldy! Why are you turning your elbows outward? The Brothers are risking their lives to catch people, and it's all for you to get a wife... What's going on here?"
"Take them away," Aeming waved his hand irritably, pushing through the crowd.
As the officers pursued Aeming's group from the Provincial Capital, residents clung to the police, demanding answers. They clamored, "Hey, who’s going to pay for my broken window?"
"And my motorcycle got hit too! Who's going to compensate me?"
It was chaotic as they chased after a team of officers. At that moment, Aeming couldn't care less about brotherhood; he raised his hand and called out, "Everyone! If anyone has suffered losses, report it to them! The 110 will resolve it for you—rest assured!"
The crowd buzzed around the officers in uniform. Seizing the opportunity, Aeming jumped into a car with his team and sped away...
The stakeout point was abandoned, and they contacted the Police Force, heading straight to the City Detachment. The three suspects were battered and bruised, covered in grime, making them hard to recognize. As they got out of the car and removed their hoods, Xiao Mu and Ruhua appeared in a pitiful state that left the accompanying officers both amused and exasperated. Their phones rang incessantly along the way; it was clear what had happened—dining without paying, stealing motorcycles, and threatening people with knives in supermarkets. These two looked far more intimidating than they had initially seemed.
As they escorted the suspects into the station, Ruhua called out, “Bald Brother, you promised! If we catch this con artist, you’ll let me wear a police uniform.”
“Who promised?” Aeming replied, feeling frustrated.
“Hey, are you just making things up? Xiao Mu, did he say that?” Ruhua rallied support.
“He did say it; I’ll testify,” Xiao Mu chimed in deliberately.
“Is that even certain?” Aeming retorted.
“It definitely is… We mentioned the police at the hotel, flashed our handcuffs, and this guy just bolted,” Ruhua explained.
Ren Guoliang noticed the suspect was cuffed and suddenly remembered to ask them, “Where did you get those handcuffs?”
“Huh?” Ruhua stammered.
“Get over there and wash your faces; look at yourselves!” Aeming barked, stopping in his tracks and calling over an officer to take Xiao Mu and Ruhua to wash up.
Once they left, he couldn’t help but chuckle despite his stomach churning. “Oh man, how am I supposed to explain this?”
It was one thing to have a target; he genuinely feared having arrested the wrong person. After bringing the suspect into the interrogation room, a detective handed him some water. As he wiped his face, the result was quite different from what he had expected. Aeming held up a whole tablet filled with photos for comparison; no matter how he looked at it, this person didn’t seem to match—but somehow did. The man was noticeably balding with very light eyebrows that barely showed up against his skin tone; upon closer inspection, his head resembled a shiny bald dome.
“What should I call you?” Aeming asked politely.
"Now that you've found me, there's no point in hiding anymore." The man sighed, a mix of resignation and relief in his tone. "I am Wang Shou. After all these years, you’ve tracked me down, and I’m finally free."
He appeared surprisingly calm, devoid of any fear, though there was a hint of desolation in his eyes.
"Treat his wounds and get him a glass of water. Be polite... If you cooperate, we’ll be courteous; if not, we have our ways," Aeming instructed his team, initiating the preparations for the interrogation. There was no rush; he called for someone to wash the man's face and pour water while the medic tended to his injuries.
Meanwhile, the group from the Provincial Capital gathered outside the door, peeking in and whispering among themselves. They believed that someone like him would be easy to interrogate. Typically, long-term fugitives experience significant psychological pressure, and most remain calm after capture because it marks the end of their anxious lives.
As they spoke, two officers returned—one holding his face and the other pressing on his eye—indicating they had not come out unscathed. At that moment, Aeming and his team of detectives felt no resentment towards these two troublemakers. He led the laughter, unable to contain himself as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. The others laughed in various ways: some covered their faces, others turned to the wall, but none faced the two officers directly; they knew that looking at them would only intensify their laughter uncontrollably.
Indeed, a habitual offender who had evaded capture for ten years fell into the hands of such individuals—who could say this wasn’t poetic justice?
On this day, May 24th.
The case involving Luzhou's impersonation of Postal Savings was cracked open. The suspect Wang Shou had been apprehended in Langxi City after ten years on the run, with over 690,000 yuan in stolen money recovered. The news reached Luzhou, where the special task force celebrated with high-fives and quickly ordered the local police force to organize an escort. That very night, they transported this key figure in counterfeit money back to Luzhou for interrogation...
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